Beermeister
Banned
So for our own first prototype Steam Machine ( the one we're shipping to 300 Steam users ), we've chosen to build something special. The prototype machine is a high-end...
The final retail version will be borked, confirmed.
So for our own first prototype Steam Machine ( the one we're shipping to 300 Steam users ), we've chosen to build something special. The prototype machine is a high-end...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006519%2040000048&IsNodeId=1&Description=titan%20graphics&name=Desktop%20Graphics%20Cards&Order=BESTMATCH
Titan Graphics cards? Newegg says $999. So uh yeah people may want to revise their top of the line steambox quotes.
Why the flying hell aren't AMD GPUs in it?!? You'd think with Mantle completely obliterating the need for DirectX... AND with the AMD GPUs in all the next gen consoles, that AMD would be the perfect fit for SteamOS and SteamBox.
Valve clearly have not thought this through very well.
I don't think there is much overlap between the group of people who don't want to build a PC and the group who doesn't mind spending $1000 for gaming hardware.
My point is that they priced themselves out of the console market.
Most likely because:Why the flying hell aren't AMD GPUs in it?!?
So for our own first prototype Steam Machine ( the one we're shipping to 300 Steam users ), we've chosen to build something special.
I'm still confused how this works.
Well, the goal is to get the early adopters to evangelise the product. Basically spread the word about how amazing Steam Machines are.
I'm the most technically minded person in my family. Whenever someone's wanting to buy a smartphone, or a videogame console, or a tablet, or whatever, I nearly always get an email asking for my opinion on what they should buy.
If Valve convinces me that Steam Machines are genuinely good products, I'll recommend them to others.
Oh, and I forgot to mention in my last post; Valve has two other things they need to do. Court developers, and court hardware manufacturers.
If Valve adopts Google's Android strategy (and they should), they could approach hardware manufacturers and push them to develop hardware while Valve supplies the software. Get people like Samsung, LG, etc. in on the act - companies that don't traditionally have anything to do with the videogame market. There's a lot of potential here.
Why the flying hell aren't AMD GPUs in it?!? You'd think with Mantle completely obliterating the need for DirectX... AND with the AMD GPUs in all the next gen consoles, that AMD would be the perfect fit for SteamOS and SteamBox.
Valve clearly have not thought this through very well.
Most likely because:
1) Nvidia has better GPUs.
2) Nvidia has better Linux drivers.
3) Valve has an agreement with Nvidia.
Secondly you have to realize Valve (probably) wouldn't be aware of Mantle's existence any earlier than you were, so how the hell could they have thought of such a thing?
The whole Mantle thing is just trading one master, Microsoft, for another. SteamOS is about getting gaming to more neutral ground, for the sake of progress.
Im having a lot of trouble figuring out who this is for.
Valve makes money by selling people games on Steam.
Steam is getting more and more popular, but PCs are getting squeezed more and more by other markets and by strategic incoherence on the part of Windows.
Valve's goal is to make sure Steam is able to keep getting more popular even as PCs (in a vacuum decline.)
One way to do this is to make Steam compatible with other computer OSes that already exist; that's why Valve created Steamplay and released Mac/Linux clients.
Another way to do this is to create their own gaming-oriented OS and encourage more and more ports to it; that's why Valve created SteamOS and is pushing for Linux ports from major developers.
Another way to do this is to make it easier to play games on the couch/TV so people don't feel compelled to sit at their desk when they play PC games; that's why Valve created the Steam Controller and Big Picture mode.
Yet another way to do this is to make it easier to buy PC gaming hardware at a reasonable price without having to know much about computers; that's why Valve created Steam Machines and is working with manufacturers to make them efficient and effective.
The common denominator of all these efforts is that they answer the questions of people who don't already use Steam. If someone says "well I'd get into PC gaming but it's too expensive/obnoxious to build a box," you tell them to buy a Steam Machine. If someone says "lol comfy couch," you hand them a Steam Controller. If someone wants to play indie games on a miniature HTPC streaming box, you point them to SteamOS. And so on.
This: Dimensions: approx. 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 in high
Combined with an i7 and Titan amazes me, frankly.
The whole Mantle thing is just trading one master, Microsoft, for another. SteamOS is about getting gaming to more neutral ground, for the sake of progress.
I think you've hit the nail on the head mostly. My only wonder about it going android style is how you can enable manufacturers to differentiate their product. For example, a company that would love to be the centre of the living room, samsung, could make a "galaxy s machine" but if they differentiate through their own interface and bloatware as in android, it would damage the performance gains and return you to the same old pc manufacture shit you see in the windows world. Unless they have a specific app or section closed away from the core interface and system, i'm not clear on how differentiation works other than on a hardware level, such as windows phone.
But yes absolutely right about valve's early adopters.
Gabe said it himself - "The internet is super smart. If you do something that is cool, that's actually worth people's time, then they'll adopt it. If you do something that's not cool and sucks, you can spend as many marketing dollars as you want, [they] just won't."
It just seems like making PC gaming even more a Valve monopoly.
On the other hand, if they are willing to keep low or null profit margins and to offer pre-built systems at a *fair* price (instead of 50% overpriced as most pre-built rigs are these days) they could already have a winner in their hands.
It just seems like making PC gaming even more a Valve monopoly.
RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 (CPU), 3GB DDR5 (GPU)
Storage: 1TB/8GB Hybrid SSHD
This: Dimensions: approx. 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 in high
Combined with an i7 and Titan amazes me, frankly.
I find it hard to believe the Titan edition will run on that PSU.
If Valve sold the computers for cheaper than you could buy them at Newegg or whatever, wouldn't people just sell the parts separately for money? I can't imagine getting a PC pre-built for cheaper than somebody could build one themselves. I guess this could work if for some reason those parts only worked in Steam boxes.
The whole Mantle thing is just trading one master, Microsoft, for another. SteamOS is about getting gaming to more neutral ground, for the sake of progress.
Mantle is open source....... Just like SteamOS.
It just seems like making PC gaming even more a Valve monopoly.
In the hypothetical event that the hardware does end up cheaper in a steam machine, my guess is itd be tough for a person to sell a used titan for 50 bucks cheaper than retail. Plus then youd have the rest of the hardware and the case to sell off. So I wouldn't think that would be too big a problem.
Mantle is open source....... Just like SteamOS.
This Chassis is going to be extremely sexy. I'm going to be jealous of whoever gets their hands on this relatively tiny box if this is using an ATX motherboard.
Based on the size specs, is it the same size of the Xbox One?
With those specs and the inevitable price it looks like valve is looking just sell deeper into their existing base.
Not really surprising
So what's stopping me from opting for a self-built PC in the living room over a Steambox?
So what's stopping me from opting for a self-built PC in the living room over a Steambox?
What? Mantle is open source, at least. It's basically on the same level as SteamOS: an open source product put out by a company largely to serve their own needs and customers.
Open Standard != Open Source
So what's stopping me from opting for a self-built PC in the living room over a Steambox?
I think it's a mistake focusing on multiple configurations, doubly so ultra enthusiast configurations that will do nothing but resurrect the LOL $3000 PC Required meme. This "Living Room" segment they're supposedly targeting is not interested in wading through the techno jargon of CPU/GPU hierarchies. They're also not going to be buying $3000 boxes, or even $1000-$1500 boxes. It would have been much better to put all their effort and focus into a singular bang-for-buck spec and worked on selling it as cheap as possible, side-stepping all the middle-man mark ups with the value to OEM's coming from volume and branding (similar, but not identical to what Google does with the Nexus line). Ideally this singular box would be branded with the year (e.g. Steam Machine 2014 Edition) and updated annually. The core components (e.g. GPU, MOBO/CPU) could also be sold as Steam Machine branded upgrades separately at similarly reduced margins.
I guess I misunderstood what Mantle was. I thought their API was no longer proprietary.
AMD understands Mantle not as an open standard à la OpenCL or OpenGL
No way, has to be a Mini ITX board at that size. All you need is a PCI x 16 slot, anything more is just wasted space.
You think Valve is paying consumer prices?